Food For Thought
by Griddlebone
Summary: Rocky stumbles upon something he wasn't meant to see and winds up with some unexpected advice. Companion-fic for A Divine Conspiracy.


Notes: This story is a companion piece to my longer fic, _A Divine Conspiracy_. It's set in the same universe, about three years prior to the events in _A Divine Conspiracy_, but it's not really spoilery or dependent on that story; it's just intended to provide a little bit of (hopefully) amusing backstory.

-x-

Rocky DeSantos was lost. Lost didn't even begin to describe it, actually. He had been staying in the castle with his family for a year now and he still had absolutely no idea where he was.

_This is what I get for deciding to explore_, he thought sourly. And for leaving Adam behind. No doubt he would get an earful about this later.

If he ever found his way back.

He supposed that if his loved ones eventually stumbled upon his bones in the depths of the castle some day in the distant future, at least he wouldn't have to endure their lecturing about carelessness and impetuosity.

This far below the inhabited portions of the castle, the hallways were small and dark, almost tunnel-like. The odds of running into anyone were looking really slim, which was not exactly a good thing since he had no idea where he was. He walked past door after door, all closed and dark, and wondered if he would be better off turning around and trying to find his way back to where he had started. Or where he at least stood a chance of finding someone that knew where he was.

He slowed and stopped, considering. If he kept going, there was always the chance that instead of stumbling back into an area of the castle in common use, he would wind up even more hopelessly lost and no one would ever find him. But if he turned back, he might be able to retrace his steps and get his bearings back.

He almost turned around, when something up ahead caught his eye. There was a light coming from one of the rooms up ahead, and the door was slightly ajar. Elated at finding any sign of life in this place, Rocky rushed over, slowing cautiously at the sound of a woman's voice. She wasn't speaking. It had sounded more like a breathy grunt, or groan. This was followed by the sound of heavy breathing, and...

Oh, _great_.

It was just his luck to finally stumble upon someone - in this case, someones - that could tell him how to get back to civilization, and they were...

_Well, this is going to be awkward._

But he had enough of a voyeur in him to risk a peek anyway. After all, the door had been left ajar. He could hardly be blamed for catching a glimpse as he wandered by. His excuse more or less firmly settled in his mind, he finally worked up the courage to go up to the door and peer through the opening.

The scene before him was much as he expected. There was a man and a woman, close together, breathing hard, a sheen of sweat visible on their skin; the room was lit by a single candle on a low table to one side. They had not yet noticed his presence, each focusing attention solely on the other. They were both still clothed, which in Rocky's experience was not exactly conducive to this sort of thing, but perhaps that meant they had only just begun and interrupting them wouldn't be quite as awkward as he had feared.

He decided he could wait a little longer to be sure, and so he could get a better idea of who he was dealing with.

He recognized the woman by her long black hair - she was one of Princess Kimberly's handmaidens, and the only one in the castle with hair like that. And the man... he recognized him, too. There was no mistaking Jason Scott. Jason was the favorite up-and-coming young warrior; some people even thought he might marry the Princess and become King one day. It begged the question of what, then, he was doing in some long-forgotten room below the castle, fooling around with the Princess's favorite handmaid.

Rocky had only been watching for a few moments when it became obvious that it wasn't what he thought. For one, the way the two were moving was a great deal closer to violent than sensual. As they grappled, Jason forcing the girl bodily against the wall and pinning her there, Rocky caught sight of something even more worrisome than being caught watching: the flash of a knife-blade between Jason and the girl.

He knew then that he couldn't stay silent, though the idea of revealing himself was suddenly frightening. He had not the slightest idea why Jason of all people would be menacing a young woman with a blade - he had always seemed much more stable than that - but he could not merely stand by and watch it happen.

"Hey, what's going on here?" he demanded with a bravado he did not feel.

Jason glanced over to where Rocky stood in the doorway, his expression shocked and confused. The girl seized the opportunity the distraction provided and lashed out with two knives of her own that until now had been hidden in her skirts.

Jason sputtered ineffectually, leaping backward barely in time to avoid a slash aimed for his neck. "Okay, Trini, enough," he said. His opponent inclined her head slightly, acknowledging that their fight was over.

"Okay," Rocky managed, feeling completely and utterly bewildered. "What just happened?"

"Nothing important," Jason muttered, looking vaguely like a child who had been caught stealing sweets out of the castle kitchens between mealtimes.

His companion, Rocky gathered that her name was Trini, laughed. She had already hidden her knives away somewhere, leaving little indication of what she had just been up to aside from the slight flush of exertion that tinged her cheeks. In fact, she now appeared calmly sweet and innocent, the picture of a good handmaid. The only sign that she might be more than that was the almost alarming intelligence that glinted in her dark eyes.

"Your father would have my head if he knew what we did down here, and you know it," she chided gently.

Jason did not seem pleased, but did not contradict her either. Rocky had seen how she had lashed out at Jason in a lightning-quick blow that could have been deadly had Jason's instincts been less well-honed. No wonder Lord Scott would be displeased if he knew about these goings-on. Most of the castle would probably be displeased to see the Princess's handmaid disporting herself like this, as well.

Well, Rocky decided, they wouldn't hear about it from him. If Jason and his girlfriend wanted to sneak away into the forgotten depths of the castle and try to kill one another instead of messing around like normal people, it was none of his business.

Casting a glance at the intruder that Rocky could not quite interpret, Jason said, "Well, I guess we're done here for today then."

"I'd better get back to Kimberly," Trini said demurely, as if she had not just nearly killed the kingdom's favored warrior, and disappeared down the hallway. Jason watched her go, his expression faintly amused and pleased.

"You spar with a _girl_?" Rocky asked, incredulous, and unable to stop the question from spewing forth as soon as she was out of sight.

Jason grinned. "She knows things the training masters don't. She was trained in the south, before she came to live here. She knows the way they fight there. It's... different from how we fight here. It's good practice."

"Seriously?"

Jason bent to pick up a second blade, which Rocky had not seen lying on the floor near his feet. "How do you think she got me down to one blade before I pinned her, then?" he asked, his tone rich with amusement.

Rocky knew from watching the other warriors practice that there was no one in the castle that could disarm Jason like that without a heavy helping of luck. "You're kidding."

"No. She's a lot fiercer than she looks."

"Huh," Rocky said, dumbly. "I would never have guessed."

"Most people don't." Jason shrugged, as if it didn't bother him at all. Then again, it probably didn't. Nothing ever really seemed to faze Jason. "I think she likes it that way."

"That way..."

"People underestimating her," Jason clarified. He seemed suddenly eager to change the subject; Rocky did not quite know what to make of what Jason was telling him, so he let the older man do as he liked, and did not press the issue. He was fairly certain that he did not want to get on the wrong side of Trini and figured that the less he knew about her, the better.

Jason was curious about one thing, however: "So, how did you manage to get down here?"

"I have no idea. I got lost, and then here I was," Rocky explained.

"Can you find your way back?"

"I wouldn't have said 'lost' if I could."

Jason chuckled. "We're in the old barracks, under the inner wall. It's pretty easy to find your way out... if you already know where you're going. Here, I'll show you."

It was distressingly easy to get back to the parts of the castle he knew with Jason leading the way. And the experience had left him a little shaken; he did not really know as much as he thought about the place he lived or the people he spent time with. But he had come away from his little adventure with some new ideas about his own training that were definitely worth more thought...


End file.
